Car construction



July 29, 1941.

J. CHRIS-HANSEN ET AL CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. l5, 1959 4- Sheetsv-Sheet l rfi/wan ATTORNEY July 29, 1941.

J. CHRISTIANSEN lEIT AL CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 15,

1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5' BY ,@wu w ATTORNEY July 29, 1941. J. cHRlsTlANsr-:N Erm.

CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jaim crfn -Jlm Them/uson MQW ATTORNEY /IPI Il! J. cHRls-rlANsl-:N ET Al.

July 29, 1941.

` CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 15, 1939 4 Sheets-'Sheet 4 lNVENTORS Jaim Christiansen Jaim BD. Thompson BY /Q-JJ 1. ATTQRNEY Patented July UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Berwick, Pa., assignors to. American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N.'Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 155,` 1939, serial Noyzsassi c1a1ms.'(c1.1o5397) This invention relates to vehicles 'in general and in particular to light weight railway vehiclesV intended for the transportation of passengers.I

In the past vehicles for the transportation of J passengers have been excessively heavy or where attempts have been made to lighten the structure the full strength value has not been obtained from the necessary component carparts. The necessary car parts are they underirame, the skeleton frame and the weatherproof covering. In old constructions the underfrarne was made suiiiciently strong of itself to carry the entire load, with the skeleton frame and covering merely added to complete the car and provide protection Vfor the passengers. Attempts have been made in the last few years to lighten railway vehicles by making the underframe andskeleton frame act in unison to carry the entire load, with the covering being made as thin as possible and serving merely as a protective shell against entrance of the elements. An ideal construction and the lightest possible arrangement will be one in which the underframe, skeleton frame and covering act in unison to carry the load with each part being constructed and arranged as to fully develop the strength of the material. It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a construction for railway vehicles in which the component parts are so constructed and arranged as to develop as fully as possible the full strength of the-parts.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a railway vehicle having corrugated self supporting Wall and roof sheets, which sheets may be intimately secured to the skeleton frame to fully develop the strength of the sheets and frame. V

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved construction of skeleton frame for railway vehicles having a corrugated or other irregular covering.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an improved sealing means for railway vehicles having a corrugated covering and which means may additionally form a part of the frame, thus acting not only as a sealing means, but also as a strength member.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a railway vehicle having a corru' gated exterior covering and corrugated interior lining in order to give maximum strength with minimumweight.

These and other objects ofthe invention will vbe apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, ln which Figure 1 is a sectional view of substantially one-half the improved car;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the upper portion of the car; f

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View showing A the lower portion of the car;

Fig. 4 is anenlarged sectional view showing the construction at the end of the car;

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view taken through the side and end of the car; I

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6- 6 of Figure 1 and showingdetails of side walls construction;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1-1 of Figure 1;A .v

Fig. 8 is an elevational View of the improved car when coupled to form an articulated unit;

and r Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken through the corner post and disclosing a modiiication thereof.

Referring now to thevdrawings in detail, it

will be seen that the cars have been designed for use in articulated units having end units A and center units B supported upon a plurality of trucks C in any suitable manner. Such a connection and support of the car bodies will give a minimum weight construction, but it is.

to be understood that the cars may be supported in the usual manner upon a pair .of independent trucks. The car bodies in the present instance are primarily designed for subway or interurban use and to this end are provided with sliding side doors D adapted to slide into pockets formed in the side Wall by elimination of the Windows adjacent to the door opening and against dividing posts H located in the middle of the door opening. As clearly shown inFig. 8y the carv bodies are formed with rounded ends E, but the roof and side sheets are designed to terminate at points F inwardly from theend, with the remainder of the roof and side sheets being completed by substantially designed caps or coverings which will later be 4described in detail.

'.Ihe underframe for the cars, which are of the side carrying type, is made as light as posu sible without the customary center sills although the underframe may beprovided with the'usual center sills. Angle shaped cross bearers Zextend across the underframe and are joined together by truss forming member 4 4intermediate the center of the car and the side sills 6. The side sills are of iianged Z formation, having an upper -ange 'I resting upon the cross bearers, while form exactly to the contour the/web extends vertically overlapping the ends of the cross bearers and extends downwardly a considerable distance to terminate in outwardly directed iiange I to which is secured angle member Il having one leg I i directed upwardly. 'Ihe cross bearers support the customary Z shaped door stringers I2 which, together with the side sill. will directly support thecorrugated metal iioor sheets il, which in turn support the dooring proper It which may be placed in position while in plastic condition.

'I'he skeleton side wall is formed by posts Il which, in the instance shown, are of Z cros's sec- .tion, having an inner ilange I l connected to the side sill web, while the outer ilange 2l has been corrugated in such a manner as to conof the side sheathing will be connected to the side flange o! the side posts and l2, which sheathing sill and corrugated having one flange 2l directed vertically and preferably made continuous throughout the length of the car, such continuity being permitted by offsetting the corrugated nange of the side posts inwardly as at 20 (Fig. 2). -The inwardly directed flange of the belt rail must of necessity be made discontinuous but may be welded to brackets 2l fastened to the posts and so shaped as to provide support for the window stooling 3l. The upper ends of the side posts also have the outei ange o'set inwardly as at 3| in order that the downwardly directed ange 32 of the window header or letterboard stiifener may be made continuous, thus providing a strong and uninterrupted surface for attachment of the lower edge of the letterboard 3|. In the present instance the letterboard is not formed as an independent element but forms an integral part of the side plate due to the fact that the plate is pressed in one piece withan inner vertically directed ilange 35, a horizontal web portion 38 and a curved outer flange which forms the letterboard. This combined letterboard and side plate caps and is directly secured to the side posts and also provides a support for the arched carlines Il. 'I'he carlines, like the side posts, are of Z cross section bent or in other words arched to conform to the desired car contour. The outer flange 40 of these carlines is corrugated in a manner similar to the side posts in order that the to the belt rail 24. 'I'he belt rail is oi' angle form, 20'

corrugated roof sheets l2 may'be intimately and directly secured to the flanges over their entirelength; The lower flanges 43 of the carlines are connected to the side plate by distorted angle members 44 and are also connected to the lower flanges of Z form purlines I6 extending between the adjacent carlines. As clearly shown in the drawings Z formgpressings 48 are secured to the tops of the side posts and to the side plate, thus permittingincreased area of the side plate and increased support for the carlines. 'I'he size plate is stiii'ened by means of curved plate Il extending continuously from end to end of the car and acting as a stiener also forthe lower edges of the roof sheets which are connected to the side plate, side plate stiffener and gutter strip 52 by a common securing means.

The inner ilangeof the side posts has attached thereto adjacent the floor a base strip Il forming part of the heater duct 55 and providing a s'upport for angle connection 5I to which the lower edge of a corrugated lower lining sheet 58 is. secured, the upper edge being secured to window sill il and window stool previously referred to.

The central portion of the ceiling is also pro- W side wall corrugations and -ously referred to. In this I Substantially vided withaccrrugatedpanelusupportedby thecarlineilangesandconnectedatitsedges to the outermost purlines as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 'Ihe customary advertising card ceilingstriptlex'tendsbetweenthecormgated ceiling and the shade housing strip Il, with the two strips connected together and to the side plateby means of a Adistorted Z shaped member l Asclearlyshowninll'ig.5the areabetweenthe last side post adjacent the door, which post is made deeper than the other side posts. and the door opening is utilised to form a pocket for the sliding door which of necessity cannot be obstructed; therefore, in this area shallow posts Il ci general channel form are used having their outer ila'nges l! corrugated to conform to the corrugated contour of the side sheets. Additional stiglening posts for this area are provided by ilanged channel liningcftliecar. Inordertosealtheendsofthe also provide a stiii'euer and edge for the door opening a cap member 12 is provided (Fig. 5). This cap member is formed from a plate with a corrugated end portion 13 adapted to overlap the ends of the side wall corrugations and merge into the plane ot the plate as at i4 with the intermediate portion oi' the plate curved as at 'II inwardly to form an edge of the door opening. From the edge of the door opening the plate is directed rearwardly then outwardly as at 'I6 to contact the mainportion of the plate adjacent the ends of the corrugations and has its end directed inwardly. as at 'il in order that the plate may be rigidly secured tothe .shallow stittening posts 68 previway a combined door opening member, tubular post and corrugation cap-is provided, thus eliminating a large number of parts and insuring minimum weight -with maximum strength at the opening. The inner edge of the door opening will also be formed by a plate member Il bent similar to that Just described with the exception that the free end, instead of being corrugated, will overlap the flanged channel post 1I, thus forming in the nal assembly two box section posts reinforcing the inner lining adjacent the door opening.

A channel formed end sill Il (Fig. y.4) is carried by the imderframe and has connected thereto Z or other form'end posts 82 with the outer flange Il corrugated in conformity to the corrugated end sheets 8l, which end sheets are so connectedto the end sill and to a header angle Il extending across the car above the end door or passageway. As clearly shown in Pig. 5 the corrugated end sheets overlap and aredirectlysecuredtotheccrrugatededgeiiange It of an element of the corner post construction, which element is connected to the end sill and is extended from the corrugated edge of the end sheet outwardly .toward the side of the car as at l1 merging into an angularly disposed web portion Il, which in turn merges into a portion parallel with the car side wall andterminatesinaninwardlydirectedilange SII adapted to overlap and be secured to the web of channel post Il. This channel post is secured to the sidesill in substantially the same manner as the side posts I8, while the portions 81, Il and Il of the corner post element are also securedtothe sidesilland end sill bybrackets 'Die outer flange $2 of this channel post is corrugated to conform to theside posts 1I secured to the inner' attached directly to an angle shaped closing plate 04, .'the short nange 95 of which is connected to the corner post element previously reierred to adjacent the corrugated flange. It will thus be seen that the channel post, angle plate and angular element all of which are connected to the underframe elements will combine to form a tubular post of extremely strong construction with its edge portions corrugated to receive and be intimately connected to the corrugated side sheets. Such construction is of itself weatherproof, but in order to obtain a finished appearance corner capping strips 96 are provided having their edges corrugated to overlap the corrugated end and -side sheets, with the short corrugationsmerging into the strip 'as at 91 and with the intermediate portion curved as at $8 to give a rounded corner overlapping the anguiarly disposed portion 88 of the post and forming an additional tubular construction materially strengthening the corner post.V

As previously stated the roof sheets terminate in a single transverse plane and are connected to the rounded end by capping members |00, which members are formed of plate metal of a constantly changing width, having one edge provided with short corrugations to overlap the roof corrugations and with the short corrugations merging as at |02 into the piane of the cap member. The other edge of the capping member is ilanged downwardly as at |04 to overlap and be secured to the plane upper end member |06 extending between the capping member and the header 85. As is clearly shown in Fig. 4 the customary box for signal lights, station indication, etc, is formed by plates|01 and |08 secured respectively to the end sheet and end carline.

portion of this element and instead a channelr shaped end post |20 is provided. This post is connected to the enld sill in a manner similar to end posts 82 and has its outer flange I2I corrugated to conform to the corrugations of the end sheet, while the web thereof is connected to a reanged portion |22 formed on the ange 95.

The inner flange |20 of the channel end post is directed inwardly toward ithe center line of the car and provides a support for the end lining |26, which is also connected to the side lining by-mean-s of a flange |21. By formingthe corner post in this manner the main (plane o1' the g end sheet and the leg 01 of the corner post element may be brought into the same plane, thus permitting the corner cap to intimately contact the corner post element throughout its area.

From the preceding description of the car it will be seen that a construction has been provided using corrugated side sheets, end sheets and roof sheets, with the skeleton framing members, namely, the side posts, end posts and carlines, being corrugated in such a manner as 'to conform to the corrugations of the sheets which are to be attached thereto. In this manner intimate contact between 'the framing elements and sheathing is obtained permitting direct connection of the sheathing to the framing elements throughout the entire length of the members. By such anarrangement the full strength of the sheathing and framing elements` is developed, for distortion of the corrugated sheathing is prevented due to' the bracing eiect of the corrugated posts and carlines which prevent any distortion or collapse of the corrugations in the sheathing. It should also be noted that by proper use of the capping elements closing the ends of the corrugations, an extremely rigid construction has been provided at the corner posts and door openings, withl the capping members aiding materially in strengthening the carl structure. a y

Although 'the construction .of the car has been described more or less in detail, it is obvious that various modifications and rearrangements of parts will be possible and all such modifications and rearrangements of parts are contemplated as will fall within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is: f s ik 1. In railway car construction the combination of an underframe. side posts on either side of the underframe and connected thereto, endl posts and corner posts connected to said underframe, said side and end posts being of angular formation and having an outer corrugated iiange, said corner posts being of tubular formation with laterally directed corrugated flanges, corrugated side and end sheets overlappingsaid corrugated anges and secured .thereto,.and corner caps joining said -side and end sheets, said caps having portions overlapping the corrugated side and end sheets and corner posts.

2. In railway car constructionthe combination of an underirame, angular form posts con-v nected to the underframe and each having an outer corrugated flange, sheets corrugated in conformity to said ilangesand secured thereto. means connecting certain of said angular form posts together to form a tubular corner post, and cap means connected to said means and having portions corrugated and securedJ in overlapping a relation to said sheets.

3. In railway car construction the combination of an underframe, angular formv members connected to the underframe and each having -a corrugated ange, sheets corrugated in conformity` with said iiangesl and secured thereto,

means connecting certain of said members together to form a tubular cornerA post, and cap means connected to said post and to said sheets..

said cap means having portions thereof corrugated and overlapping thereto. v

4. In railway car construction the combination of an underframe, angular form members connected to the underframe .and each having a corrugated flange, sheets corrugated in `conn formity with said flanges and secured-thereto,

means connecting certain of said angular form members together to form a substantially upright tubular corner post, and cap means having short corrugations overlapping said sheet corrugations and merging into said cap means thereby sealing the ends of the sheet corrugations, certain of said .cap means being secured to and stiiiening said corner post.

5. In railway car construction the'combination of an underframe, angular form members connected to the under-frame and each having a corrugated flange, sheets corrugated in conformity with said anges and secured thereto,

means connecting certain oi said members to-V said sheets and secured 

